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Hollywood is speaking out, after the bombshell allegations outing movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein as a long-term perpetual sexual assaulter.
In a shocking revelation by New York Times, Weinstein is accused of “decades of sexual harassment” by several females coworkers, aspirants and actresses – who accuse him of taking advantage of his position.
Meryl Streep, who has previously worked in Weinstein productions like “August: Osage County” and “The Iron Lady,” called the revelations ‘disgraceful’ and ‘appalling,’ stating that the women who have come forth to raise their voices are the heroes of the situation.
“One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew,’ Streep said. “Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally. I didn’t know about these other offenses: I did not know about his financial settlements with actresses and colleagues; I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom, or other inappropriate, coercive acts.”
Streep further added, “And If everybody knew, I don’t believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it.”
“The behavior is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar. Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game,” the Oscar powerhouse wrote.
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Actress Kate Winslet had similar choice of words to express her disgust over the news. “I fully embrace and salute their profound courage, and I unequivocally support this level of very necessary exposure of someone who has behaved in reprehensible and disgusting ways,” Winslet said.
“His behavior is without question disgraceful and appalling and very, very wrong. I had hoped that these kind of stories were just made up rumours, maybe we have all been naive. And it makes me so angry. There must be ‘no tolerance’ of this degrading, vile treatment of women in ANY workplace anywhere in the world,” she further added.
Legendary British actress, Judy Dench also passed on her sympathies to the victims of the claimed cases of harassment. “Whilst there is no doubt that Harvey Weinstein has helped and championed my film career for the past 20 years,” Dench said. “I was completely unaware of these offenses which are, of course, horrifying, and I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered, and wholehearted support to those who have spoken out.”
The first blow has already been faced by the movie mogul, after being fired from the Weinstein company following the revelations and claims. In a statement to NYT, Weinstein said, “I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it.”
The allegations faced by Weinstein include assaulting and harassing 13 women and raping three of them, while several other people associated with him have come forward with claims of non-consensual sexual pursuits with women.